East of Eden
by Clio
Summary: Focuses on Harry, Dumbledore and Snape. Harry finally learns the truth about the events around a certain night in October '81. A painful truth, that comes fully equipped with a lesson on human flaws, emotions and mistakes. AU since OotP and HBP.
1. Well Maintained Lies

East of Eden 

****

by Clio   
Spring 2001   


__

Please, dear readers, don't quit my story after looking at the prologue. It will all make sense. Maybe not right away, but later it will. There will be more chapters coming! 

__

I did some thinking after HP& the GoF and I came up with a weird melodramatic story of my own (that's how I like them, plus I can't write funny dialogues). 

****

When this was written, the 1st, uncorrected edition of GOF was still around. In that the ghost of James came out of Voldemort's wand before Lily's ghost. (You remember, the big duelling scene on the graveyard?) Like many others I deducted that James had somehow been killed after his wife. This story is my theory to explain that mystery. 

__

This story is set in Harry's fifth year, and it is focussing on Harry Potter and Severus Snape.   


__

Any kind and constructive criticism is appreciated! Forgive me my poor choice of words. English is not my first language (I'm German) and I am a scientist, not a writer.   


########################################################################################## 

**__**

Disclaimer   
_Everything, every location, every character belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Pub., Warner Brothers or whoever might currently hold the rights of Harry Potter. There are exceptions - the title is taken from a John Steinbeck novel (go and watch the screen adaption and read the book), the Prologue is quoting the Holy Bible._   
_The Life Shield Charm and the transmitter owl are mine._   
_I swear, I don't make money out of this. Wish I would._   


##########################################################################################   
  
  
  


****

Prologue   


[...] Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.   
In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.   
But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. 

[...]   
Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? [...] If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." 

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 

Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?" 

The Lord said, "What have you done? Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.   
Now you are cursed from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from   
your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." 

Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, [...]; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." 

But the Lord said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over."   
[...] 

So Cain went out from the Lord 's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.   


Genesis 4.1-16 (slightly abridged)   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


****

Chapter 1   
**Well maintained lies**

****

By Clio   
  


Minerva McGonagall sounded very angry. "I can't believe you are willing to perform that cursed spell again, Albus!"

The Deputy Headmistress of Howarts, known as a controlled and stern person among her students and colleagues, jumped to her feet, knocking over her chair in the process. The three other people present in Dumbledore's office- the Headmaster himself, Harry Potter and Severus Snape - looked at her in surprise. It was certainly a strong reaction to Dumbledore's seemingly innocent proposal to perform a certain Life Shield Charm on Harry.   


Outside the cold December rain was pouring down onto the deserted grounds of Hogwarts. It was the beginning of the Christmas Holidays, and almost all students besides Harry were gone. Their parents wanted to have them home for Christmas in these troubled times of Voldemorts second reign of terror. 

After Voldemort's rebirth, which Harry had witnessed in July of his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Voldemort's power had increased day by day. In the beginning the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had denied any sign of You-know-who's return. 

He still insisted that he was dead when Igor Karkaroff's horribly mutilated body was found hanging from a tree in front of the Ministry of Magic in London at the end of September. Officially Karkaroff had committed suicide, but the rumors about Lord Voldemort's return could not longer be held at bay. 

Throughout autumn people had mysteriously disappeared like leaves from the trees, most of them former Aurors and witnesses from the trials against the Death Eaters. Some bodies of were found, but the most victims seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. Voldemort and his followers had started their revenge on old enemies. 

Professor Snape, who had resumed his role as Dumbledore's spy among the Death Eaters, now feared for his life every waking minute. His welcome into the Death Eater's fold had been cold, and his rank among them was low, much lower than it had been once. He could only make educated guesses about who would be the next victim. 

The open war against Voldemort had begun on a crisp winter day two weeks ago, when Cornelius Fudge was cruelly murdered while working overtime in his office. 

When the Dark Mark hung above the Ministry of Magic the return of Voldemort could no longer be denied. Dumbledore had called this urgent meeting at the beginning of the Christmas holidays, because it was very clear that Harry would be one of the Dark Lord's next victims. 

Harry had already been sitting in Dumbledore's office for hours now, listening to the endless exchange between Snape, McGonagall and Dumbledore. He was bored. He hardly understood their arguments on various inefficient protection charms and spells, and his mind had wandered off. Now his attention had snapped back to the discussion. Dumbledore's last proposal, a Life Shield Charm, seemed to have sparked horror in Harry's ever-so-controlled Transfiguration teacher Minerva McGonagall.   


" I'm surely not the only one who remembers what happened last time we used it." Minerva McGonagall looked over to Snape, who had remained silent for a while now. "I just can't believe you would agree to this, Serverus! This is insane! You both must be insane even to think of this!" 

Snape shifted his weight uncomfortably in his chair. "Well," he began in a low voice, "it certainly would be a very desperate measure." McGonagall threw her hands up and sat down again. 

"Minerva is right to oppose the Charm." Snape looked a bit apologetically at Dumbledore. "Even if we decided to perform it, we couldn't do so. It takes a lot of experience in dueling and a lot of jointly training for both protectors on the team. In our current situation we can't spare any wizard from the Order to let him take the practice, let alone allow him or her to take such an uncalculated risk, which it undeniably is without the proper training. You know that I, for example, would have the necessary magical background and the appropriate training, but my hands are bound in this matter, since I already ... " Snape trailed off and shot an annoyed look at Harry. 

"Does the boy have to be here?" he asked Dumbledore, who only held up a hand a and nodded. 

With a sour smile Snape continued. "Well, as I said, we don't have time for finding and training someone from outside the Order. With all due respect, I agree with Minerva. This is not a good idea, Headmaster."   
  
Harry frowned. He wished the adults in the room would finally explain to him what in the world they were arguing about. After all this meeting was held to address his safety. Ever since Dumbledore had mentioned that Life Shield Charm to protect him from possible attempts on his life, the atmosphere in the office had grown tense. 

So far Harry had understood only this: The 'Life Shield Charm' would be performed by two wizards, who essentially would protect the third one by simultaneously casting a charm over him. This charm would build up an extremely strong shield around the protected wizard, which would block any curse thrown at him, including the Unforgivables. A feat, which he had been taught to be impossible in his regular Defense against the Dark Arts class. He has also learned that this action needed practice and blind understanding between the two casting wizards, and that it was dangerous for all three of them. Also every wizard could only once in his life act as shield wizard for another one.   


Harry interrupted Dumbledore, who was calmly defending his proposal against his teachers. "Sir, I don't quite understand. Why wouldn't Professor Snape be able to perform that spell on me?"

Dumbledore coughed delicately. "An excellent question, Mr. Potter."

"He hasn't done it before, right?"

"Ah, Mr. Potter, but he has. It's been a long time ago." Dumbledore glanced over to Snape, who rolled his eyes and seemed to say 'I knew this would happen.' 

Dumbledore quickly turned towards McGonagall again. "Minerva, we have a good idea of what went wrong back then. This time the risk would be minimized. Believe me, I have done a lot of research in all these years."   


Harry was still pondering Snape and the mysterious charm. "Sir, er, sorry to interrupt you again, but when was this Life Shield thing performed? I don't remember it."

The room fell silent. Dumbledore looked pensively at Harry with his ever so blue eyes. Snape, whose face was unreadable, stared down on Dumbledore's wooden desktop as if seeing the veining for the first time in his life. Professor McGonagall looked nervously from one to the other. The only sounds to be heard were the rain pounding on the window, and the crackling fire in the fireplace. 

In the silence comprehension dawned on Harry. When he was an infant Voldemort had attacked his parents' house in Godric's Hollow. He had tried to kill him, but the curse had rebounded and stripped Voldemort of his powers, which until recently he had not been able to restore. His mother had protected him with his love and he had survived the Killing Curse.

What if it not only had been her love that had protected him as Dumbledore had explained to him numerous times? What if she had used the Life Shield Charm? 

She would have needed a partner to perform it. His father? Or Snape? Could it possibly be that Snape had been present at Godric's Hollow that night? 

Did he witness what had happened at Halloween 14 years ago?


	2. Once Upon a Time

**East of Eden**   


****

########################################################################################## 

**__**

Disclaimer   
_Everything, every location, every character belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Pub., Warner Brothers or whoever_ _might currently hold the rights of Harry Potter. There are exceptions - the title is taken from a John Steinbeck novel, the concept of the Life Shield Charm and the transmitter owl are mine._ _I swear, I don't make money out of this._

****

##########################################################################################   


****

Chapter 2   
**Once upon a time**

****

by Clio   
Spring 2001   
  


Harry was confused. "Headmaster, please, what did really happen the night my parents died?" A ghost of a smile moved over Dumbledore's face, as if appreciating that Harry had come to this conclusion himself.   


"I don't see this time and place being appropriate to discuss those events," Snape said brusquely before Dumbledore could answer. 

The Headmaster sighed heavily. "Severus, sooner or later Harry must know. He seems to be old enough now. And I might remind you, that despite his youth he is deeply involved in our fight against Voldemort. It is time for him to understand the past and learn from it." 

Dumbledore obviously had a point. Snape didn't reply. His lips were pressed into a tight line and no muscle in his face moved. Harry could only see a vein in his temple flicker nervously.   


"Well, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore began, "14 years ago Voldemort was on the peak of his power. It was then that a prophecy was made about the son of Aurors being his downfall - the son of the Potters, to be specific."

Snape interrupted him harshly. "That's rubbish! There was no divination whatsoever involved." 

"Yes, that's true, but nonetheless Voldemort was willing to believe in it. He was already after your parents because they both were powerful members of the Order."   


At this point McGonagall got up. "Please excuse me, Headmaster. I have business to attend, ... essays to mark. And I believe this will be something you, Severus and Harry should discuss in private." Dumbledore nodded and McGonagall left the office.   


After the door fell shut Snape looked at Dumbledore with a wry smile. " I reckon I'm not allowed to leave?" 

Dumbledore gave his Potion master a cheerful smile and began anew. "Like today, Severus was my spy in Voldemort's circle. He informed us about Voldemort's plans to attack your parents. That was the time when we placed the Fidelius charm over your parents' house in Godric's Hollow. Only your parents and Sirius Black knew who James had chosen as their secret-keeper. And while I thought it was Black, it was the treacherous Peter Pettigrew , as you well know,." 

Dumbledore paused as if to recollect Pettigrew's betrayal. "A while after your parents went into hiding the Death Eaters captured a man, who was known as a seer. He was tortured cruelly. And while he was tortured, Voldemort's men, who enjoyed the power over their victim, taunted him. They asked him for a proof of his divination abilities. The man took his chance and made up a prophecy. Voldemort's downfall would come from a child, he said, an Aurors' child. He offered Voldemort to help him finding and fighting that child. Voldemort allowed him to live, if the man told him the name of the child. Your parents were the only Aurors he could think of instantly, and he told him their name." 

Dumbledore forced himself to smiled at Harry. "Your parents were quite famous in their time. You shouldn't blame him. Many men break easily under torture." 

Snape snorted. "He didn't live long enough to regret his stupid words."   


Dumbledore shook his head. "As Severus said, Voldemort killed the unlucky man instantly. And the Dark Lord began to hatch a plan how to kill you. Severus reported to me what he knew about this plan. We were having a meeting here in this very room, Severus, your parents, and I . Unfortunately your father refused to believe Severus. They had been enemies at school, and at the time of that meeting they were still nursing their childish grudge. Both of them were acting very, very immature." 

Dumbledore glanced quickly at Snape, who seemed to study the stones in the wall with great interest. "Your father suspected Severus to have invented the new danger to be more believable as a spy, while really working for Voldemort. He called him a Slytherin liar. Severus on the other hand reproached James with being an irresponsible husband and father, because he rejected to leave the country with you and Lily. Those accusations only deepened the trench between them in a situation where we should have stood united against Voldemort. Your father and Severus got into a heated argument, which ended in a fistfight right here in my office." 

Dumbledore shook his head again. "The meeting was called off without any result. Few days later your mother Lily was sitting again in the chair you are occupying now. She had thought about Severus' warning and had decided to take it seriously. Without James' knowledge she came here to ask me about shielding and defense charms to protect you. You might find it hard to believe, but amidst all house rivalry and hate, Lily and Severus had managed to stay friends during their school-days. Actually, they grew up in the same village in Yorkshire, where they spent a great deal of time together in the summer holidays." 

Harry frowned. This was news to him. Sirius had never mentioned that Snape and his mother were playground buddies. Was it possible he hadn't known? Or maybe he and the James had been very aware of it, and Harry had just come across the underlying reason for the rivalry between Snape and the Marauders.

Harry focused his attention back on Dumbledore.

"Lily trusted Severus and believed his warning. It was then that the three of us – Lily, Severus, and I- came up with the unfortunate Life Shield Charm plan. It was a backup strategy in case Voldemort would find a way around the Fidelius that protected your parents' house. The basic idea was, that Severus would accompany Voldemort to Godric's Hollow. He and Lily would then cast a spell over you, in case Voldemort would try to kill you. The charm I had chosen was a powerful yet untested experimental shielding charm, which needed to be cast by two strong wizards. One of them had to be a blood relative –your mother- the other one must not be related to the charge. Hence the need of Severus being present." Dumbledore waved his hand in Snape's direction. 

  
"I also knew that the charm, when effective, would rebound any curse, and I assumed it would rebound it onto the caster. This tragically turned out to be wrong, but I will try to tell you the events in a timely order. As I said, we assumed that the curse, possibly a killing curse, would be rebounded onto Voldemort, which would weaken him immensely. Severus was selected to take the opportunity and kill Voldemort in that moment of weakness, while your mother would keep up the shielding charm on you for some more minutes. In his normal condition Voldemort was almost immortal back then, and we all hoped that we had found a way to get rid of him once and for all." 

Dumbledore sighed. "This was the theory. Severus and your mother secretly practiced to cast the charm simultaneously for days. Lily had decided against telling James, because she thought it would only fuel his hate for Severus. Too soon came the day on which our plan had to come into action. Voldemort tried to kill you with the unforgivable killing curse and the shielding charm was placed on you by Severus and Lily. It turned out that I had misjudged the direction of the rebounding curse. It didn't hit Voldemort- but both casters of the shielding charm.   
"Luckily, in the very moment the killing curse rebounded, Severus broke his connection with the shielding charm to place his own killing curse on Voldemort as planned. This saved his life. While the rebounding curse affected Severus only lightly, it hit Lily with all its might."   


Harry looked unbelievingly at Dumbledore. "Why didn't you tell me that before? Why were you lying to me about my parents' death for years?" He raised his voice accusingly. It betrayed more anger than he had intended. 

Again Dumbledore glanced over to Snape. "See Harry, that's all difficult to explain. More things went wrong that night. I admit you have a right to know what has really happened, but I couldn't tell you earlier. It's a tale not appropriate for a child."

"I'm not a child anymore." Harry protested.

"No you are not. I didn't tell you about this earlier, because you were not ready, but now I believe you are. You see, this is very well kept secret. Few people know what really happened that night. And believe me, it is better to keep it that way." 

Harry's mind raced. "Does Sirius know? He was there, too, right?" 

Dumbledore sighed. "Sirius, yes. He came later to the scene and then rushed off to search and meet Pettigrew in that unfortunate duel, which brought him into Askaban. Sirius doesn't know, I'm sorry to say, because he lacks the necessary maturity. And him knowing what you will learn now would only make things worse. I must ask you not to tell him, and also not to confide in your friends or anyone else. No word of this conversation is to leave this room. Do you understand me, Mr. Potter?" 

Harry nodded numbly. What secret could be there around his parents' death, other then Voldemort murdering them? 

Dumbledore interrupted his musings. "You must know we had a special owl placed at the scene of the events. A transmitter owl. I wanted to monitor what happened." 

"What's a transmitter owl?" Harry asked. 

"Well, you can place a charm on an owl and then see through its eyes, even when the owl is located in a great distance. Of course the owl has to be carefully trained to go to an assigned location."   


Dumbledore rummaged through a drawer of his desk and produced a big orb, very much like the crystal orbs Professor Trelawney was using in her lessons. "In this receiver you can see whatever the owl lays its eyes on. I would suggest we now watch the recording of the events of the night." Dumbledore placed the orb on a black piece of velvet.   


"No!" whispered Snape, his voice suddenly hoarse with emotion. 

"Severus, please. Sooner or later Harry must see the record." 

Snape had gotten up and began pacing the room agitatedly. "But not tonight, Albus." Harry looked at his teacher in surprise. Small beads of sweat shone on his upper lip. 

" Would it make any difference if it was tomorrow or next week? Would you be more willing to let him see it then?" 

Dumbledore responded. He stood up and placed his hand on the shoulder of his Potion master in a surprising fatherly gesture. "Please stop pacing, Severus. You are wearing out my rug."   


Both men sat down again, and Harry couldn't help but notice that Snape seemed to be afraid of watching the record. What scenes where trapped inside the orb, that made his infamous, feared teacher look so shaken? 


	3. Holding the Dawn

****

##########################################################################################   
**_Disclaimer_**   
_Everything, every location, every character belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Pub., Warner Brothers or whoever might currently hold the rights of Harry Potter. There are exceptions- The title is taken from a John Steinbeck novel and the Life Shield Charm and the transmitter owl are mine._ _I swear, I don't make money out of this._   
**##########################################################################################**

  
**East of Eden**   
by Clio   
Spring 2001 

****

Chapter 3: 

****

Holding the dawn 

Dumbledore touched the crystal orb with the tip of his wand. "Redde imagini de October 31st, 1981" 

The orb began to glow golden. Then the picture of a room became visible. Obviously the transmitter-owl was sitting on a window-sill on the ground floor of a small house. They were looking into some kind of entrance hall. 

With a start Harry noticed a man in muggle clothes, who was coming down the stairs boisterously. Although he had never seen him alive he recognized his father at once. James Potter was obviously going to answer the door, because he shouted "I'm coming! What's the point of a secret keeper if you keep stopping by?" as he moved towards the entrance. 

As soon as James had unlocked it, the front door burst open. In came two cloaked figures with black hoods drawn over their heads and masks made of a silvery fabric covering their faces. 

Death Eaters! 

The first one immediately pressed his wand tip against James' neck and hissed: "Where is your son, Potter! "

James' eyes bulged. Then, despite the wand at his throat, he screamed at the top of his lungs: "LILY, TAKE HARRY AND RUN!!" 

The Death Eater immediately let go of James, spun around and raced up the stairs to the upper floor, where he suspected Lily and the boy to be. Halfway up, he stopped and bellowed at his companion: "Kill him!" Then he continued his way to the second floor. 

The remaining Death Eater turned towards James, who was drawing his wand. "Expelliarmus!" the Death Eater shouted and send the wand flying across the room. James himself was thrown against the wall from the power of the spell. Two framed photographs fell down and smashed on the floor. Dazed, James looked at the Death Eater, who was now slowly approaching him. 

The other man muttered under his breath "My pleasure, Potter," and with an uppercut that could have stunned an ox, he sent James into unconsciousness. He paused shortly. Then he gave James a kick in the ribs for good measure, and turned to rush up the stairs in pursuit of his companion.   


The image in the orb changed. The owl was flying to an open window on the first floor, and Harry could see a tidy living room now. 

  
The walls were lined with book shelves. In the center of the room was a blue sofa, and next to it, a wooden baby crib. A piano stood in one corner of the room - the cover was opened, ready to play. In front of the piano lay Harry's mother, struggling to get up from the floor.

It seemed that the Death Eater, who was now leaning over the crib, had simply pushed her out of the way. Focused on his task to kill Harry, he hadn't even bothered to bind or disarm her. With the high pitched laugh of a lunatic he placed his wand on he forehead of the child in the crib, who was sound asleep despite the turmoil around him. 

Voldemort didn't notice his companion coming up the stairs behind him. The second Death Eater nodded briefly at Lily, who had her wand already pointed in the direction of the crib. At the same moment the Dark Lord cried out a triumphant "Avada Kedavra!" they simultaneously cast their protection spell. 

"Clipeus versus! "   


For a split second the air around the baby glowed golden, but then the whole room seemed to explode in green light. Immediately "Avada Kedavra!" boomed through the room again, and a second flash of green light followed the first one like an echo. An unearthly cry, which resembled the inhuman shriek of an animal in pangs of death, made the window pane quiver and burst. 

Harry instinctively closed his eyes and drew back from the orb. Eventually the sound had died down and Harry dared to watch again. At a first glance the living room looked like a hurricane had just gone through it, but besides shards of glass and splintered furniture it appeared to be empty. 

Then Harry saw that Voldemort was gone. His mother and the Death Eater were both lying on the floor, apparently swept from their feet by a great magical force. The Death Eater, half buried under a book shelf, was the first to move. With a groan he got to his feet and peeled the silvery fabric of the mask off his face.   


Harry gasped. He was looking into the face of Severus Snape. 

It was the unlined face of a young man, almost still a boy. The hair was short, and the younger Snape was sporting a well trimmed beard, but the fierce black eyes and the hooked nose could not be mistaken. He was bleeding from two deep cuts on his cheek and above his eye, where pieces of flying glass had hit him. Confused he looked around until he spotted Harry's mother. 

Lily was lying limp on the floor under a white cover, which at the first glance could be mistaken for snow. At a second glance the cover consisted of shreds of paper - ripped journals, sheets of music, unread bills and pages of books torn apart by the collision of contrasting magic. The whole floor was covered with them. 

"Lily!" Snape croaked and staggered through the chaos towards her. He dropped down on his knees by her side.

Lily's face was white like her paper cover. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was pressed into a thin line. Blood was trickling from her nose and ears. Snape stared at her in horror. Then he gingerly placed a hand on her neck to check the pulse. 

"Gods, Lily!" 

In response to the sound of his voice the child started to whimper weakly in his crib.

Lily opened her eyes. "Harry!" A moan escaped her mouth. Obviously she was in great pain. "My child, what has he done to my child, Sev? " 

Snape got up without a word and went to the little boy. The baby was bleeding badly from a deep wound on his forehead, just in the spot where Voldemort's wand had been touching him. The whimper dyed down as suddenly as it had begun, and when Snape reached down into the crib, the baby didn't respond. 

"What is it now? " Snape waved his wand over the child. "Enervate!" 

Nothing happened.

"ENERVATE!" Again nothing happened. Snape glanced quickly over to Lily, who looked at him with wide eyes. 

"Do something!" she pleaded.

Snape took his wand between his teeth and placed his trembling fingers on the tiny chest of the child. He pressed the ribcage down hard four times. 

Again he moved his wand over the baby. "ENERVATE, damn it!" 

This time the baby stirred. Snape let out a string of swear words before he touched the child's bleeding wound with his wand. "Asclepio!" The wound stopped bleeding immediately and the toddler began to wail loudly in pain. 

"Bring him to me, will you," whispered Lily. 

"It's all over now." Snape said to the baby with a forced smile on his face and pocketed his wand. Then he leaned over the crib to lift the boy up.   


A roar rang through the room. " NO! Don't you dare to touch him, Death Eater!" Snape straightened and turned towards the direction of the voice.   


In the doorway stood James Potter, who had regained consciousness. His face was pale and he was holding on to the doorframe for support, but his wand was firmly trained at Snape. 

**_A/N_**: Thanks to everyone who reads this story and a big hug to all reviewers! Your positive feedback was overwhelming! I never thought I could do more than getting the attention of a handful of readers. And now there are you people out there and you actually like my plot. You should know that you made my day, when I was checking for my story at work earlier today and found all these reviews there. I almost fell out of my chair. Thanks again. 

__

Special thanks to:   
_Lily Daniels_: Snape has all reason to be nervous!   
_sidewinderUNI_: I like Snape, too, but I don't think he is a very likable person for Harry or any other of his students.   
_nagh, cuckoo_: I'm not a patient one either. That's why this chapter goes up although I'm not 100% satisfied with it yet.   
_Rosmerta, Qaera, Majhdr_: I came up with the plot while studying for my masters exams. I originally worked it out to entertain myself during my study breaks and to keep my mind away from pondering on chemistry formulas.   
_Alphie_: Yes, the Godric's Hollow Mystery. I was just tired of waiting for the next HP book to come out.   
_Sphinx:_ You make me blush (you all do BTW). I like Steinbeck's novels a lot, too! I can only recomand to read them, although I must admit, that I had some scenes from the movie in my had while working on the story. Oh, and where did you get the idea this will be a Snape-redemption story?_?_  



	4. The Darkest Hour

######################################################################################### 

****

Disclaimer   
_Everything, every location, every character belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Pub., Warner Brothers or whoever might currently hold the rights of Harry Potter. There are exceptions- the title is taken from a John Steinbeck novel, the Life Shield Charm and the transmitter owl are mine._ _I swear, I don't make money out of this._

##########################################################################################   


**East of Eden**

****

by Clio   
Spring 2001

****

Chapter 4   
**The darkest hour**   


"You !" James gasped when Snape turned around. "I knew it! Get away from the child, Snape."   


He shot a quick glance over to where Lily lay on the floor, while keeping his wand pointed at Snape's chest. "Lily!"

She smiled weakly at James, who turned back to Snape. "What have you done to her? What have you done to my son? You goddamn traitor." His face turned red with anger.

Snape slowly lifted his hands over the head. "Me?" he asked mockingly. "Can't you see I'm here to save your arse, you arrogant idiot?" 

If his words were meant to calm James, he was failing spectacularly. But probably their were not.

"Liar! You are a Death Eater! Voldemort's bloody Death Eater! You are here to kill my son." James was shouting now, his voice breaking. Sparks came out of the tip of his wand. 

"James, no," whispered Lily, "he's here to help." 

James blinked uncomprehendingly at his wife. Snape used the moment of distraction to draw his wand. Having seen the movement from the corner of his eye, James shot a body-binding spell at Snape, who dived behind the couch.

"You coward!" James roared, now almost mad with rage. He started to hurl uncontrolled curses at the couch. When the piece of furniture exploded in flames, Snape jumped out from behind it, and while throwing some badly aimed curses at James he ran over to a worn-out arm chair for cover. Black smoke, which made the two opponents gasp for breath, began to rise from the burning couch. 

From his cover Snape aimed some spells at James. Two of them only left dark torch marks on the wall. The third spell hit James in the arm. Immediately blood began to seep through the sleeve of his Muggle shirt. Crying out loud in rage and pain he didn't hear Lily begging desperately. "No. James. Severus. Stop. Oh, please stop." She begged in vain, for Snape and her husband were locked in a death duel now. 

One spell gave the next. A powerful "Corrumpis" curse made parts of the wand collapse, another minor explosion curse set the already destroyed bookshelves on fire. Spell by spell the living room was torn apart. And in the crib in the middle of the room the infant was crying his lungs out. 

Then two mighty curses met halfway. An uncontrolled outburst of destructive magic followed, which peaked in a powerful explosion of blinding white light. Another wall collapsed, parts of the ceiling came down and the lights went out.

The image in the orb on Dumbledore's desk became misty and it quavered for a moment before it went back to normal.   


In the smoke and dust-filled darkness only the frantic wails of the baby were to be heard for a few seconds. Harry could only barely see one figure moving within the slowly clearing clouds of smoke. It was Snape, who was struggling to get to his feet amidst some heavy oak beams and rubble from the ceiling. His right leg seemed to be injured. As soon as he put his full weight on it he collapsed on the floor again. James was nowhere to be seen. 

Eventually Snape was able to steady himself in a standing position by leaning upon the remains of a chair. Dazed as he was, James' spell out of nowhere hit him square in the chest. 

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Snape stumbled backwards into the half destroyed hallway, where he fell on his back. 

His wand flew high up into the air, and in an impressive curve it came down right into James' hand. He caught the wand with a triumphant cry, broke it into pieces, and went after its owner. "Where are you, you bastard?" 

In the dimly lit hall Snape again tried to get up in vain when he saw James coming towards him. James threw the pieces of the wand into the face of the man lying at his feet. "You Slytherin piece of crap! Now you'll pay." 

"Listen! James, I would never hurt Lily! Don't you know that? Snap out of it, bloody hell!" Snape sounded frightened.

James face was contorted with emotion now. "You still have the nerve to ... to... . You filthy liar. And to think Dumbledore trusts you, you traitor! " James' voice snapped. 

"Dammit, Potter, you arrogant twit, listen to me!" 

James made a threatening step towards Snape and raised his wand. Snape swallowed whatever he was about to say and began slowly to crawl backwards in the futile attempt to get away from James, who was towering over him. 

"Incenso! Incenso!" 

Series of fire-charms hit the floor next to Snape, who now desperately scrambled backwards. His eyes, wide with fear like a cornered animal, never left James' face. His hands were frantically running over the carpet in the search of anything that he could use as a weapon, but they only touched the many pieces of glass on the floor, that cut them open mercilessly. 

"Listen, Potter!", he cried, "Sirius, your secret-keeper, is the traitor, who..." 

"Oh, nice try, but you're wrong here. AND NONE OF MY FRIENDS WOULD EVER BETRAY ME!" James roared and aimed his wand at Snape's head. "Got to hell, Snape". 

"AVADA KEDAVRA" sounded through the hallway followed by a green flash of light.   


James, hit by the deadly curse, stumbled backwards until he reached the stairway. With an uncomprehending look on his face he fell down the stairs where his body hit the landing with a sickening thud. 

In the dark hallway Snape lay trembling, clutching a wand in his bleeding hands. 

For a moment he just lay there flat on his back with his eyes closed, panting from exhaustion. Then he looked at the wand he had found. It was Voldemort's wand, which had been send flying into the hallway when his owner had vanished. As hard as he could Snape hurled the wand against the wall, from where it rebounded. It clattered down the stairs like James' body had before it. 

After a moment of silence Snape dragged himself over into the destroyed living room on all fours, where he, deaf to the wails of the child, moved over to where Lily lay. Propping himself up against a pile of rubble he pulled her body into his arms.

"Lily!" 

She was barely alive. Her eyelids fluttered in her pale face, but they remained closed. " Harry, ... how's Harry? " she croaked. 

" Shh. Don't worry. He is ok." 

"Are you alright, Severus? What happened?" 

"I'm fine, just a few scratches." Snape grimaced. "I think my leg is broken. But I believe ... I believe we made it. Voldemort is dead." 

" He is dead? I looked into his eyes when I tried to reason with him. I wanted to stall until you came. It was so creepy, ... unreal." Lily's voice broke. 

" I know, Lily, I know. But he is gone now." Snape gently stroke her hair with his bloodied hand. 

"Where... where's James?" Lily whispered.

Snape withdraw his hand from her hair as if he had burned it. " I ... don't know."

With a weak yet determined voice Lily demanded "Sev, don't. Don't lie at me. Where is James?" 

Snape closed his eyes. "He is dead, Lily." 

Lily flinched in his arms and let out a short whimpering sound. After a moment of silence she whispered. "How? You didn't... . Did you kill him?" 

Snape began to rock back and forth as the words started to pour out of him. "Lily, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Everything ...just has gone wrong, so terribly wrong. I didn't ..." 

Lily interrupted him. "Sev, listen to me." Her voice was unexpectedly firm. " Voldemort's curse, it has somehow hit me, I think. I'll die." 

Spasms were now running through her body and Snape tightened his grip to prevent her from slipping out of his arms. His face was horrorstruck. " NO, Lily. No! Surely help is on the way. Dumbledore will be here any minute." 

Snape forced a smile upon his features and whispered imploringly: "Everything will be fine. Everything will turn out well. And..." 

Lily interrupted Snape's hasty words once again. " No, ... no, Sev." She whispered. "And Harry, ... all alone." Lily opened her eyes and looked searchingly in Snape's face. "Severus, do you hear me, ... you must protect Harry. Promise it." 

Snape swallowed hard. "I promise, Lily." 

A faint smile appeared on the face of Harry's mother. The spasms diminished and stopped, and her fists unclenched slowly. 

"Lily?" Snape shook the limp body in his arms. "LILY! All will be fine! Lily, no. NO!" He clutched Lily desperately to his chest. In a frantic search for the transmitter owl Snape looked around. When he found it on the windowsill, he turned his face directly to the onlookers gathered around the little receiver orb. He looked horrible. His face was covered with blood, dust and sooth. His desperate cries rang through the orb. "Dumbledore, anyone, can you hear me? Dumbledore, where are you? Help her! Don't leave me alone here!"   


At this point the Headmaster waved his wand over the crystal ball on his desk and the image faded. Harry stared into the golden mist that replaced it. For some time he was not able do anything but gaze into the ball. His mind was blank. 

__

His mother, she had died in so much pain.   
"You must protect Harry" Her last words echoed through his mind.   


Snape. 

  
He had been there. And he had killed his father.   


SNAPE HAD KILLED HIS DAD! 

Harry jerked away from the orb at this thought. He saw that Dumbledore was intensely watching him with his glittering blue eyes. 

"He has killed my Dad." Harry whispered, tears starting to roll down his face. He turned towards Snape, but found his seat empty. Unnoticed of him Snape had gotten up towards the end of the record. He was now standing by the window in the back of Dumbledore's office, his hands gripping the windowsill. His forehead rested against the cold pane of the window, from which the rain was pouring down in rivers on the outside. 

"YOU KILLED MY DAD!" Harry shouted at him. He could see Snape's shoulders square before he turned around to face Harry. 

"You are..., you are a damn..." Harry fell silent when Snape's fierce black eyes burnt into his.

"Yes, I killed your father." He slowly said in his soft voice, as if reasoning about every single word. "He was not the first one, though. I know what I am, Harry."

Harry said nothing. He just held Snape's gaze. 

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Ahem. Those were dark times indeed." 

**__**

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reads my fanfiction!!   
_I hope you will enjoy this chapter, which is kind of the centerpiece of my story! It's my ...er...favourite (lacking a more appropriate word here). You'll see what I mean. I wonder if people will keep calling this a Snape redemption story after reading this chapter..._   


__

Special thanks to everyone who reviewed. 

__

Samia: Of course I'm going to finish it!!!   
_g.gito: I'm trying my best to keep all people in character and the plotline compatible to the books, but only Rowling knows what really happened that night in Godric's Hollow. You're right though, Lily reasoning with Voldemort slipped my mind when writing. Still the Shield Charm is possible- what if Lily was reasoning with Voldemort in order to hold him until Snape could perform the Charm with her. Why else would you reason with a lunatic like Voldie?_   
_Julie, Ada Kensington: thanx guys! * bows in front of her screen *_   
_Sphinx: Did James indirectly cause Lily's and his own death? Intriguing question, isn't it? In the books at least Snape seems to think along those lines. In PoA, Chapter "The servant of Lord Voldemort" he says to Harry something like: You'll die like your father, too arrogant to believe he was mistaken in his secretkeeper. Indeed that dialogue ( plus the priori incantatem order of appearence) inspired me to write this fic. Snape with a beard? I don't think so either. But young men, when they want to look important or dangerous, love beards, because they make you look older! _ ; )   
_Qaera: Hope my plot can live up to your expectations._   
_MMM: OH MY GOD, you, the Author of most outstanding HP fics, are actually reading my story!!!_   
_*recovers from a fit of joy* Well, McGonagall leaves the room, because maybe underneath the stern cover is a soft heart, that can't bear to see two of her former students die, even if it's just in a crystal orb. Snape being an idiot and James making a fool out of himself: They are just themselves. I would prefer to call it fateful circumstances. It's the concept of classic tragedy - being yourself will inescapablely unleash whatever fate has in store for you. Oh, and isn't hitting someone physically much more satisfying than waving a wand?_   
_As for the mutual friend of Snape and D. - well spotted! I really had someone in mind, when I wrote it. There will be another hint to that person towards the end of the story, but it is actually someone from another HP fic which is already lurking in my head._   
  



	5. A Thin Cover of Ice

**East of Eden**

****

Chapter 5   


########################################################################################## 

**__**

Disclaimer   
_Everything, every location, every character belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Pub., Warner Brothers or whoever might currently hold the rights of Harry Potter. There are exceptions- The title is taken from a John Steinbeck novel, the Life Shield Charm and the transmitter owl are mine._ _I swear, I don't make money out of this._

##########################################################################################   


__

Thank you, Darkwing, for beta-reading this! (Hey, two commas in one sentence!)   


****

Chapter 5 

****

A Thin Cover of Ice 

****

by Clio   
Spring 2001   
  
  


Dumbledore coughed. "See Harry, Severus used Voldemort's wand when cursing your father. The very same wand which was later picked up by Peter Pettigrew and kept till the day of Voldemort's return. Now, every wand fits the personality and the magic of its owner. This wand, the twin of your own wand, was stamped to do bad deeds by its owner. Severus wasn't willingly choosing the kind of spell he was using against James. He killed your father in self-defense. It was an accident."   


Harry angrily jumped to his feet. "I strongly doubt that!" He pointed accusingly at Snape. " He killed my Dad. He is a dark wizard, a MURDERER." Harry was now shouting at the top of his lungs.   


Dumbledore opened his mouth to respond, but Snape cut in. "Who are you to judge that?" he yelled, his usually sallow face red with emotion. "Do you think you know it all, only because you have faced Voldemort once? Do you think you can tell good from evil, right from wrong? Yes you do, because you are Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. Who only lived because I knew some ordinary muggle First Aid, by the way." 

Snape took a deep breath and continued: "You're like your father- quick in judgement, always right. Perfect Potter, the role model, Gryffindor's golden boy. The whole world seemed to have eyes only for him. Us lesser mortals could try all we wanted, but we would never reach his height. He would outperform us with a smile on his face at any task, every given day." 

Snape gripped the arm rests of Harry's chair and leaned forward until his face was level with Harry's. "Maybe, Potter," he hissed, "if I was in the same situation, I would kill James again. And maybe I would smile then."   


Harry sat paralyzed by the time Snape released his chair and straightened. He turned towards Dumbledore. "It was a mistake to burden the boy with this, Albus. It is beyond his comprehension." Snape said in a matter-of-factly voice. 

Dumbledore sighed. "No, Severus, please give him time. He will understand, and he will learn from the past." 

Snape shot Dumbledore one of the cold looks that he usually reserved for Harry. "Look who is talking. Look how much time you needed, Albus. And look at the price for your lately acquired infallibility and wisdom, that your are so generously sharing with us nowadays. Half of the cells of Azkaban and half of the graves on Tintagel South Cemetery are filled with your ex-pupils." 

Snape's words were laced with a sarcasm that surprised Harry. He had never seen Snape talking so disrespectfully to the Headmaster.   


"Please Severus, don't say things you will regret later." Dumbledore said. Obviously he was struggling to stay calm. 

Snape cocked an eyebrow and forced his mouth into a smile. "Me, regret anything? You seem to forget you're looking at the infamous Severus Snape, who is incapable of any human emotion. That includes remorse, doesn't it?"   


"SEVERUS!" Dumbledore seemed to be very annoyed. 

Snape stubbornly continued with his rant. He was blindly enamored to bitter sarcasm now. "What if it had been the other way around? What if James had killed me? He would have been the hero of the day - a brave father in defense of his family, who had faced Voldemort and one of his evil minions; worth the order of Merlin first class. And how very touching he had lost his wife in the attack. It adds some melodrama to our hero. Don't you agree, Headmaster, that it would have been the more convenient ending? Tell me, would you have gotten me a nice marble tombstone at Tintagel or would my body simply have been removed by a Vanishing Spell? " 

Snape stared at Dumbledore for a moment, as if daring him to argue. Then he slowly turned towards Harry. "Believe me Potter," he was whispering almost inaudibly, "if I could change the past, I would." With that he turned on his heel and left the Headmaster's office. The door fell shut behind him with a loud BANG.   
  


Dumbledore sighed deeply and closed his eyes. Fawkes, his phoenix, left his perch and fluttered onto his shoulder, where he started to nibble at his master's earlobe. Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers. " Good bird, " he said absentmindedly. 

Harry wasn't sure what to do. He was still shocked by the exchange between his two teachers. Maybe he should leave, too? He was already getting up, when Dumbledore looked up again. He seemed to be very tired and he looked every single one of his 150 years. "Don't leave, Harry! You must be so confused, poor boy. Maybe I can help you to sort out some of your thoughts." He smiled cheerfully at Harry, but his smile was too painful to be convincing.   


A million questions at once where whirling through Harry's head, each of them equally inappropriate to ask the headmaster. Finally Harry stuttered: " Why... why is Professor Snape so ...err, angry at you?" 

" He has every right to be angry with me. You see, what happened was partly my fault. I should have researched that fateful Shielding Spell better. And I shouldn't have left Lily and Severus alone with their difficult task. We were planning no less than killing Lord Voldemort, the most feared wizard in England. The whole situation was too much for them to handle, especially when it got so out of control. Severus and Lily were both powerful mages, but they were so young and inexperienced. And Severus was well known to be a short-tempered young man. As was your father. Sending those three into a life-threatening situation together was like setting the stage for a classical tragedy. I should have been there. I should have had better cared for all my students." 

Harry frowned as the Headmaster stared out into the winter rain. "Back in the and 70's during Voldemort's first rise, I was biased against the Slytherins, as everyone was at that time. I had once been in Gryffindor myself, and so it seemed only natural to me. I always prided myself on being a just Headmaster, yet I had shut my eyes to them becoming the outcasts among the four houses of Hogwarts. No one trusted them. Slytherin was synonymous to dark wizard. That made it easy for their then Head of the House, Tiberinus Lohman, to use Slytherin as a recruitment camp for prospective Death Eaters. Too many of the young wizards and witches were easily convinced to turn against the Magic Society. The Death Eater movement offered them power and the feeling of community.   
"And in the beginning it was not as violent as it was in the end. It started out as a tempting idea of an alternative style of magic, a renaissance of the Old Ways, the non-wand magic. A fancy ideology, like there were many among the more intellectual wizards and Muggles in the 70's. People tend to forget about that. All they kept in mind was that the most Death Eaters came from Slytherin." Dumbledore sighed heavily. "I might have prevented a lot of bloodshed, if only..." 

Harry felt fury rise in him when he heard his beloved Headmaster blame himself for Voldemort gathering supporters among the Slytherins. "No, it can't all be your fault. I mean Snape, ... he is an evil man. He is always so mean to me, and he's such an unfair teacher. And he is a killer. Why is he still walking around as a free man? My parents ..." 

Dumbledore interrupted him. "Let the dead rest, Harry. No punishment can revive them. And Severus has already paid dearly for the sins of his youth. And for the events of that fateful night I truly bear my share of guilt, too." He looked at Fawkes, who was still sitting on his shoulders. "And guilt also weighs heavily on Severus' conscience. You must understand, that this is the reason for his unfairness. A guilty conscience would drive other people to feel sympathy with you or they would try to befriend you, but it's simply not Severus' nature. Instead he tries to keep you away from him, and the memory with you. He doesn't really hate you, he hates the whole world and most of all himself.   
"You should know that he is always volunteering on the most dangerous missions against Voldemort. Every time he has to spy on the Death Eaters, he fears for his life, but still he forces himself to do it. Maybe he sees gambling at this high risk as his personal road to redemption. You never know the ways that man's mind is working." 

Dumbledore paused for a brief moment." He would never talk about it, but I'm sure every time he teaches you, he feels like a part of him is back in the ruins of Godric's Hollow and at Azkaban. That's what makes him so cruel towards you." 

"Azkaban? Snape was in Azkaban?" Harry asked. 

Dumbledore nodded. "As I said, he paid dearly for the sins of his youth. He was there for eight weeks before his trial. The very night of Voldemort's downfall, rumors started spreading about a baby killing him. As Severus stated earlier, we had no reason to make people believe otherwise. So all credit of what he had worked so hard for, and almost died for, was placed on a little child. You. And the only person besides me, who knew otherwise, was Severus himself in his cell far away in Azkaban. Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Hagrid and all the Ministry officials only came to the ruins of Godric's Hollow later, when Severus was already gone.   
"It was the easier story to believe. Plain black and white. Not shades of gray . And people needed heroes so dearly then. They were grateful for the tale of Lily and James and their fabulous baby-boy. And after the trial we couldn't change that story anymore without exposing Snape as a high ranking Death Eater and the killer of James." 

"Why? Wasn't Snape cleared of all charges in his trial?" 

"Yes." Dumbledore seemed to consider his answer for a moment. "Ah, I don't feel able to explain that to you right now. Tomorrow you shall come to my office, and then we will discuss this matter further. Its already late tonight, Harry. You should already be in bed for hours." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Deep in thought Harry shuffled through the abandoned hallways of Hogwarts towards his dormitory in the Gryffindor tower. He was one of the few inhabitants there during the Christmas break. Only two girls were staying in the first year's dorm, but he assumed they were sound asleep by this time of the night. He felt no urge to talk to them right now, anyways.   


When he lay in bed he couldn't sleep. Blurred images whirled through his head. He saw the face of his father contorted with rage, and his mother dying in the arms of Snape. He heard Voldemort's high pitched laughter and then he heard him scream. 

So Snape had been the legendary wizard who killed Voldemort ...   
Somehow Harry was relieved that after all it hadn't been him, who defeated the Dark Lord. He was just an ordinary wizard child, not the savior of the whole Wizarding World. Very deep down he was a little bit disappointed, though. Quickly he dismissed this thought. 

Harry was confused. What was he supposed the think and feel about what he had seen? 

__

Thanks to all my readers, especilly to those who reviewed. 

CL: _Personally I think JK Rowling has an even wilder plot for us in store. Unfortunately I also believe, that we will have to wait till book 7 to know all details of the Halloween night in Godric's Hollow._   
Darkwing: _Snape seems to have a really complex background, but we don't know too much about it. Maybe that's why so many fanfiction writers are fascinated with him; you can let your fantasy run wild._   
Morrighan: _I have heard those rumours, too, but I truly believe that the wand scene in book 4 was not a mistake, but a clue._   
_As for Snape- I was toying around for a while with different schemes of redeeming Snape within my plot. They didn't really work out, so I decided to keep him an unhappy and ambivalent character. You are pointing at the important question of this fic- why did Snape kill James? (Hint: go back to the prologue) Currently I'm thinking about a real Snape redemption fic, but I don't know if I will ever write it. It might turn out too cheesy, and yes, it's way more fun to let him suffer *grins evilly*._   
_BTW, I'm dying to read the next chapter of Road to Damascus !!! I adore your story, it's my all time favourite! Post it soon, please._   
Snidget, Rons Mine: _Thanks guys! The story is going to slow down a bit in this chapter, but there will be another interesting scene later._   
MMM: _Gotcha ! _ ; )_ You're not sure anymore what to think? - Great, that's exactely what I want you to be._   
  



	6. Fighting with the Back to the Wall

**East of Eden**   
**Chapter 6**   


_A/N: Here comes the third to last chapter of my story; it is the first part of a long trial scene. A lot of the past will be revealed. And I took some liberties with the minor characters Rowling has created - ever wondered about Rookwood's job in the Ministry or about Professor Sinistra's first name?_   
  


_Thanks, all you unknown readers out there. Well, at least I hope there are still some of you._   
_I'm very grateful to those of you who reviewed the last chapter:_

_Tatiana: You are right, killing someone certainly does not qualify as self-defense. Dumbledore at least wants to believe it was an accident._   
_RavenNat: Thanks a lot_   
_MMM: Well, sometimes I'm not sure if Snape's bitterness is the result or the cause of his affiliation to the Death Eaters. What is obvious from the PoA, is that he feels humiliated by James Potter and his friends. You might even call that a mild inferiority complex. (Ahh, psychology, I hate that stuff.)_   
_About Snape's fans loving to see him suffer- Happiness is just not part of his personality. Could you imagine Snape wandering through a field of flowers in the sunshine, a happy tune on his lips? Awkward. Could you imagine Snape trudging through the snow during a winter storm, drawing his cloak closely around the body to keep the coldness out? Better. See my point?_   
_Ari Ana Dotcom: Not being able to stop reading? Wow, I'm flattered. That's what every author wants to hear._   
  


########################################################################################## 

**_Disclaimer_**   
_Everything, every location, every character belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Pub., Warner Brothers or whoever might currently hold the rights of Harry Potter. There are exceptions- The title is taken from a John Steinbeck novel, the Life Shield Charm, the Transmitter Owl, and the Morituri are mine._   
_I swear, I don't make money out of this._   


##########################################################################################   


_Thank you for beta-reading this, Darkwing!_   


**Chapter 6**   
**Fighting with the back to the wall**

**by Clio**   
Summer 2001   
  


Harry didn't sleep much that night, but he was wide awake when he entered Dumbledore's office in the next morning. After a warm greeting Dumbledore conjured his Pensieve onto the table. He smiled at Harry across the silvery liquid in the stone bowl. "You remember this, don't you?" 

How could Harry forget the scenes he had seen in Dumbledore`s Pensieve in his fourth year? He nodded silently. 

"An useful item, this. Sometimes images can explain what words cannot express." Dumbledore's smile ceased. "You wanted to know what happened at Severus' trial. Well, let me go back a little further. Right after the scenes you saw in the crystal orb, I rushed to Godric's Hollow. It was horrible. All I could do was order Hagrid to take you to the Dursleys. I myself took care of Severus. He was seriously injured, and under the given circumstances we couldn't just send him to St. Mungo's, could we?   
I apparated with him to..., well, an island, where the justice of neither wizard nor muggle world could reach him." 

A secretive smile crossed Dumbledore's face. "I knew he was taken excellent care of from a friend of mine and her novices. Sooner or later, when the situation had calmed down, he would have to face a trial, but for the time being he was safe.   
Some months later the trials against the former known Death Eaters started. I convinced Severus to leave his sanctuary and to surrender to the Hit Wizards. I had come to an understanding with Mr. Rookwood from the Ministry; he would stand a non-public trial immediately." 

Harry interrupted the Headmaster. "Rookwood, isn't that a Death Eater? " 

"Yes, Harry, but neither I nor Severus knew it then. Rookwood was a very skilled spy. After Severus turned himself in, he made sure that he was thrown into Azkaban for some weeks. Rookwood surely wanted to get rid of him before he could testify in the trial. I suppose he wasn't sure if Severus knew about his activity as Voldemort's spy in the Ministry. Anyway, Rookwood would have preferred to lose the key to Severus' cell. He didn't take any chances, so he gave the order that Snape was to be introduced to all amenities Azkaban had to offer. Since Severus' health was still shaken, he couldn't bear the torture for long. He got ill quickly - so ill, I feared he might die in fact.   
"Fudge, who was then a young and ambitious Ministry worker, shared those fears. He probably saw the rare opportunity to condemn another Death Eater slip away. He overruled Rookwood, and Severus was facing trial."   


Dumbledore nodded towards Harry and tapped his wand against the Pensieve. The gray liquid inside it swirled around. Harry stared at the little vortex in its center. Suddenly he felt like being inside the vortex himself; the office started spinning. Harry closed his eyes.   


When he opened them again, he found himself sitting on a wooden bench in a coolly lit room. The windowless walls were made of smooth gray stones. With a start he recognized the courtroom he had been seeing in the Pensieve in his fourth year. Something was different, though. The then so tightly packed seats were almost empty. Only a few witches and wizards were seated in the room, which now appeared much larger than Harry could remember it from the trials against Bagman, Crouch jr. and Karkaroff he had witnessed in the Pensieve. 

Like in his earlier Pensieve experiences he was seated in the second row between Dumbledore and Mad-Eye Moody. Barty Crouch Sr. and Cornelius Fudge, who was obviously there as an official observer, were the only other wizards he recognized when he looked around. 

Crouch, who had been sitting on the opposite side of the room, suddenly stood up. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Before we begin with the hearing, I would like to inform you, that today's trial is not public, due to the request of the main witness." He nodded towards Dumbledore. Some heads of the wizards and witches, who seemed to represent the jury, turned towards the Headmaster. 

Crouch clapped his hands twice. In the front wall a door opened, and in came two Dementors. They flanked a man in dirty robes, whom they dragged to the chair in the middle of the room. He sank onto the seat like a rag-doll, and the Dementors stepped back to allow the magic chains to wind around his wrists. 

Harry now had a clear view of the man. He could have sworn he had never seen him before. Certainly it was not Snape. The man's gray, dirt-covered robes were torn in many places. They hung loosely around the gaunt body. His head was sloppily sheared. Bloody scratches ran across the skull. The ghostly pale face, which was shaded with black stubble, looked calm. No sign of cruelty or torture was seen there. The dark eyes, which were sunken deeply into the skull, were laced with red.   


Crouch now stepped in front of the man. "What's your name, defendant?" 

"What? Me?" The man in the chair stared at Crouch uncomprehendingly. His speech was heavily slurred as if he were drunk. 

"Your name!" 

"Severus Snape", the man mumbled.   


Harry inhaled sharply and took a second look at the hunched figure just a few meters away from him. It was indeed Snape. Without his ever so greasy black hair he was hard to recognize. To Harry, although he knew, that only about 10 weeks had passed, he appeared to be so much older than the young man he had seen in the transmitter orb. His face was lined deeply, but it was blank like a waxen mask. It had an unhealthy yellowish color, and a film of sweat was glistening on it. 

Slowly Snape gazed around with unnaturally wide open, unfocused eyes. Where was his fierce trademark look? With a shock Harry realized that he must be under the influence of very heavy drugs. 

"Date and place of birth?" Crouch asked, but received no answer. "When were you born, man?" 

"November. November '58." Salvia started to trickle out of Snape's half open mouth.   


Moody looked over to Dumbledore. "Gave him just a pinch too much of that powder, eh?" He grinned at Dumbledore, who silently shook his head. His furrowed brows betrayed anger and worry.   


Crouch in the center of the room sighed in resignation. "Ah, well. You are Severus Corrhan Armon Snape. Born on November 21st, 1958 in the village of Snape, Yorkshire. Is that correct?" 

" Yes, Sir." 

" Youngest child of Manilus and Giaconda Snape, nèe Mulciber?" 

"Yes." 

"Alright then. You, Severus Snape, are under suspicion of being a member of a terrorist organization by the name of Death Eaters. As such you are accused of intimidation, robbery, kidnapping, violation of the Muggle Protection Act, the Wizarding Codex, and violation of the Ban against Dangerous and Uncontrollable Magic. You personally are charged with multiple grievous bodily harm and murder in eight cases. Do you understand the nature of those grave indictments? " 

Snape looked dumbstruck. 

" Do you understand what I just said? " Crouch shouted. 

Snape drew away from him and pressed his spine hard against the wooden back of his chair. "Yes. Murder." 

"Good. I hereby state that the defendant is willing, and both mentally and physically able to follow the proceedings. The case of the Ministry of Magic against Severus Snape is open for trial."   


Dumbledore slowly shook his head again.   


The hearing began with the testimonies of two men, obviously the Ministry's prosecutors. One of them was introduced as Augustus Rookwood, who was known to Harry as Voldemort's spy. Both of them were giving evidence about Snape being a Death Eater ever since he was 16. Rookwood testified that, according to some mysterious source of information he didn't reveal, Snape moved on to the inner circle of the Death Eaters soon after he had graduated from Hogwarts. He became Voldemort's specialist for poisonous drafts. Snape didn't deny anything. 

Rookwood then accused Snape of participation in various raids and told with painstaking detail how the victims, Muggles and wizards, were tortured and killed. 

Crouch objected at one point. "Haven't we've cleared him on the Bones case?" 

Rookwood nodded reluctantly. "You are right here, Sir, it must have slipped my mind. He has an alibi for the night of the attack on the Bones family," he said. "The defendant claims to have been at Florence Sinistra's place all night." 

"Do we have a testimony from that woman?" asked a member of the jury. 

Again Rookwood nodded. "Yes, she has testified in Snape's favor, but you should know that she's an astronomer in training, a stargazer, and she is a former schoolmate of the defendant. A Slytherin like him," he added with a wry smile.   


"Please go on with the prosecution", Crouch said, and Rookwood continued to talk about various raids and Death Eater attacks during the late 70's. During all those accusations Snape remained silent.   


Then it was Dumbledore's turn. " First and most important of all, I want to state that Severus was my spy among the Death Eaters. He never left our side completely and he took great risks to fight the Dark Lord." Many of the wizards and witches from the jury looked up in surprise. 

"Please address the accusations in the order they were presented, Albus," Crouch interrupted him. 

"It is correct, though, that he turned towards Voldemort at a very young age. Many did at that time, especially in the Hogwarts house of Slytherin, in which Severus Snape was placed. I don't deny that he was fascinated with the Dark Arts and Voldemort's ideology of a return to the traditional ways of wizarding. Note that this fact alone doesn't make him a dark mage. I also freely admit that he was a member of the so called Morituri while he was still a student at Hogwarts. " 

Whispers rose among the jury and Dumbledore turned towards them. "Most of you will be aware that the Morituri were the youngest and most daring of Voldemort's followers. They were child-soldiers, recruited from the Slytherin students of Howarts, and I daresay those children were victims themselves. Their enthusiasm for the Death Eater movement was exploited by Voldemort and his minions. In every battle, in every confrontation with Aurors, they were to fight in the front row. They were used as cannon-fodder, and if it suited the Dark Lord, he assigned them even as suicide-assassins. They took the highest risks among the Death Eaters." 

Dumbledore had to raise his voice to make himself heard above the now excited conversations among his audience. "Severus Snape can consider himself lucky that he soon proceeded into the higher ranks of the Death Eaters, because only few of his fellow Morituris are still alive." 

"Nonetheless they committed atrocity after atrocity, despite their youth!" A short wizard from the jury shouted. 

"Yes, but they were manipulated into doing so by the older Death Eaters, whom they followed blindly. They hardly realized what they did, what dark forces they were using. And if the Liverpool Massacre is what you are hinting at, Severus Snape did not participate in that raid. He was in the infirmary at Hogwarts then, due to a minor injury from a Quidditch match two days before." 

Dumbledore pointed at the jury. "You may look that up in our sick reports at Hogwarts, if you want to." 

"Trust me, we will. Now please continue with your defense, Albus," said Crouch impatiently. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
  


_A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger here._

_In case anyone noticed, I just couldn't resist to link Sinistra and Snape to a certain scene described in the GoF. You know what I mean, right? *Winks at the reader*_

_ BTW, Morituri is Latin. It means 'those who will die' or 'the doomed ones'. This is how the gladiators called themselves when hailing the emperor before the fight. I thought the name would fit a junior Death Eaters' cadre._   
_Maybe some day I will write down their story. At the moment there are still so many of them, who don't want to see their name appearing in a Fanfiction story. I must ask them for permission first._   
  



	7. In Dubio Pro Reo

**East of Eden**   
**Chapter 7**

_Thank you once again for reading my story. Thank you even more for reviewing it._

_caius julius: Yeah, I love evil cliffhangers. What do you mean, I caught your attention now ? Didn't I have it before? *makes wide puppy eyes* Just kidding _: )   
_wernervonsiemens: I posted chapter 6 twice because of my own stupitity (see above)._   
_MMM: Compliments, you are a real connaisseur of the HP books. You are right about Florence and Greenhouse 3. For some reason I always thought Snape was the boy who hexed Bertha Jorkins, even when I read that scene for the first time. I know about Morrighan's classification of Snape fics. BTW I really adore her style of writing. My own story I would classify as C, as in Crucio. The subtle greenhouse reference will be probably stay the only 'Snape can be happy' moment in this story._   
_vez: Snape/Harry interaction? You might want to read chapter 8. Or naybe my other story on ff.net. No, wait. Stay here and read this chapter first._   
_BeckySharp: You're a good observer. Dumbledore is only too willing to excuse Snape. Wait until you've read this chapter. I had much fun describing Dumbledore as a human being with doubts and emotions. Makes me happy that you feel that he is still in character._   
_Blackletter: Well, I wouldn't say Snape is my favorite character, but I definitely love to write him. Still, I don't think I could write a story from his POV. Too creepy._

_We are not playing 'spot the reference', but I'm nevertheless disappointed with you guys. Why did no one besides MMM care about Florence Sinistra??_   


_##########################################################################################_   
**_Disclaimer_**   
_Everything, every location, every character belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Pub., Warner Brothers or whoever might currently hold the rights of Harry Potter. There are exceptions- The title is taken from a John Steinbeck novel,_   
_the Morituri and Rantum are mine._   
_I swear, I don't make money out of this._   
_##########################################################################################_

_Thanks Darkwing for beta-reading this._   
  


We are still at the trial scene Harry sees in Dumbledore's pensieve: 

"Now, please continue with your defense, Albus," said Crouch impatiently. 

**Chapter 7**   
**In dubio pro reo**   
by Clio   
Summer 2001   


"After Mr. Snape graduated from school, he started working in the Department for Experimental Draughts and Potion Science at the Ministry. He was one of their top researchers. Voldemort soon discovered the potential of his young follower and used it well. Snape became the youngest full member of the Death Eaters. And he became Voldemort's expert for all potions he needed - poisons as well as remedies for the Death Eaters who were wounded during their attacks.   
"He soon found himself among Volemort's most trusted advisors. He didn't have to execute Voledmort's plans anymore, he now helped organizing the raids. After the less successful attacks it was his responsibility to cure the Death Eaters' injuries. It must have been around that time that he started to see the pointless cruelty and the insanity of their doing. Severus Snape came to me, his former teacher, for help, because he wanted to quit Voldemort's group. I was able to convince him, that he was more useful as my spy among the Death Eaters. So he continued planning raids for the Dark Lord, but those he planned were all failing now." 

Dumbledore smiled at Snape, who sat in his chair motionlessly. "The poisons he brewed from then on where not killing anymore. Similar to the famous Draught of the Living Death, they sent the victims into a deep coma, that was mistaken for death by the Death Eaters. The now surviving victims were shipped to Europe into safety." Dumbledore looked pointedly at Fudge, who sat a little apart from the jury. 

"Yes," said Fudge on cue, "we have the testimonies of those wizards on tape. We didn't dare to bring them back to England yet. All these testimonies are clearing the defendant. This applies to the cases of Barbara and Phoebus Calvin, Cyril Owens, the Maynard family and Franciscus Molinard. " 

"How do we know if his potions were not just failing by accident?" someone demanded. 

"I assure you that Severus Snape took great efforts in helping potential victims," said Dumbleore calmly. "He kept me informed about all of Voldemort's steps at all times, and we discussed the possibilities of saving people at great length." 

Rookwood rose. "And what about the murder of the Potters? How come you didn't know about it when he was telling you everything?" 

He turned towards Snape: " What about the murder of James and Lily Potter?" 

Snape flinched. " I didn't ..." He bit his tongue. 

Rookwood stepped towards him with a malevolent smile on his face. "You didn't what? You didn't inform Albus about it? Why?" 

"But I did!" 

"Then why did they still have to die?" 

Snape pressed his lips together. "They didn't have to die." 

Roowood raised his voice triumphantly."What is that supposed to mean? Explain yourself. Are you responsible for their death in any way?" 

Snape went an even whiter shade of pale "Yes," he whispered almost inaudibly. 

Rookwood, sensing that he was on the right trail, pressed the matter: "Are you responsible for the death of James?" 

" I didn't mean to..." 

"And the death of Lily?" 

" I could have helped her! Believe me, I could!" 

Rookwood smiled at the jury. "You see, he knows far more than he is telling us now." He turned to Snape again. "Tell us about it! How did they die? What do you know? What's your role in it?" 

"Lily," Snape winced. "If I had had Foxglove..." 

"What ?" 

"Foxglove. The digitalis-glycosids could have adjusted he blood pressure. Lily's spasms -too much acetylcholine firing through her body. Digitalis could have been a relief." 

Rookwood frowned at him. "Stop babbling, man. I'd rather hear of the Potter's death!" 

"With some atropin and pulverized bat claws she wouldn't have died. She would be alive. Albus, wouldn't she?" Snape desperately looked at Dumbledore. He started to rock back and forth in the defendants chair. "Some Nightshade's atropin, extracted by ethylene, no, toluene would be better, ... triple distilled with... " 

"Stop," Crouch shouted at him. "Stop that, will you!" 

But his effort resulted in only more violent rocking on Snape's part. "Symphytum excerpt... diluted with griffin blood..." 

Crouch mozioned towards the guards. 

"Let him be. He merely states possible remedies to some spells," said Dumbledore matter-of-factly in an attempt to calm down the situation. "He doesn't know more than you or I do about that tragic death of the Potters." 

Crouch was annoyed: " Did you participate in the killing of the Potters or do you hold any information back about it?" No response. Snape didn't seem to hear him at all. Crouch threw his hands up in resignation. "He is losing it."   


Rookwood turned towards on of the guards and hissed: "Two spoons full of it, didn't I tell you! You morons drugged him with a dose fit for a horse. He is useless. Completely useless" 

The guard whispered venomously: "Hell, that pal wasn't event able to sit bloody upright. It was hard work to get him into this presentable shape, believe me!" 

Dumbledore raised his voice again: "Let him be, Crouch, you don't need to press this matter any further. I know he is not responsible for the death of the Potters. He is only confused, doesn't know anymore what he is saying. Just look at him. I say, we should show mercy on him and set him free. He has already served eight weeks in Azkaban. He is no harm, he is our ally in fact." Dumbledore was almost begging Crouch now. 

"But how will we know he is trustworthy? How do we know that he was not Voldemort's double agent? How will we know he is not deceiving us? "a witch shouted. 

Dumbledore's face turned red with anger. "I, Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, holder of the First Class Order of Merlin, vouch for him. I have known Severus Snape since he was a student at my school, and I can assure you that I trust him. He never harmed anybody more than his role as a spy was forcing him to do. He did not kill the Potters. And he did not kill anyone else during the attacks he participated in. He is not guilty of the crimes he is charged with in this trial. I will repeat this under oath if you wish." 

The courtroom fell silent. 

Crouch coughed. " Ahem, after this impressive statement we should take a vote, I think." He glanced nervously at Dumbledore, then at Rookwood, and back to Dumbledore. 

The Headmaster stood upright, arms crossed over his chest. His face was squared and his blue eyes were boring into Crouch's. Dumbledore's presence filled the whole room- his words still hovering over the whole scene. Rookwood, Snape, the jury, everything seemed to be insignificant all of a sudden. 

Crouch squirmed. "All in favor of the continuation of this trial against Severus Snape, accused of being a Death Eater, please raise your hands." Rookwod locked his gaze with Dumbledores as if challenging him to interfere, and slowly raised his hand although he wasn't part of the jury. So did Moody. 

"Who wants to follow Dumbledore's proposal and acquit the defendant from the charges against him?" The other eleven jury members, raised their hands. Obviously they were deeply impressed by Dumbledore's declaration. Moody next to Harry shrugged his shoulders. 

In the center of the room Crouch was stepping in front of the defendant's seat. "Severus Snape, you are not found guilty of the charges against you. You are a free wizard, you may leave." 

Snape stared unbelieving at the chains around his arms which glowed golden and vanished. "No. No, I can't be. I couldn't help her. I ..." His voice trailed off. 

When the wizards filed out of the room, Moody walked over to Snape, who had remained seated and hissed at him: "Consider yourself lucky that you have such an influential friend in Albus. I know what you are, and I will be watching you, mate! " 

Snape closed his eyes and gripped the armrests of his chair. Dumbledore, who had watched the exchange, turned towards Fudge: " Please, Cornelius, could you have him brought to Hogwarts? I can have an eye on him there, and as you know, we have an excellent infirmary. The man needs proper medical care. And I have use for a good Potion Master when Rantum retires next year." Dumbledore winked at Fudge. 

"As you wish, Albus." 

Dumbledore turned to go, but Fudge held him back. "Oh, Albus, I have his wand here. We took it from him when he was arrested. Would you take it with you? You can return it later to him, he has no use for it right now." 

"Oh, I didn't know he already had a new one." 

Fudge searched inside his cloak and produced a wand. " A new one? What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Oh never mind, Cornelius." Dumbledore responded quickly and took the wand from Fudge. 

" It's a rare combination for a wand. Apple-wood and Veela hair, I think. And it seems not to be of Ollivander's making." 

"Veela hair?" Dumbledore examined the wand closely. "I think not, but your guess close enough." With a chuckle Dumbledore pocketed the wand and left a slightly confused Fudge standing alone in the now deserted courtroom 

The solid stone walls began to quiver and to dissolve. Harry found himself again sitting in the Headmaster's study, staring at the now grayish contents of the pensieve.   
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
_A/N:In dubio pro reo is Latin, and it describes one of the pillars of justice. It means 'when in doubt decide in favor of the defendant'._

_In a review of an early chapter someone asked about the place Dumbledore sent Snape to after the attack on Godric's Hollow and before his trial. Well, it's the same place he got his new wand from. Use your imagination._


	8. The Land of Nod

**East of Eden**   
**Chapter 8**

_A/N: I want to thank every reader and every single reviewer. I love you all._   
_I also became kind of addicted to writing HP fics, especially sad ones. **Read my new story "Fortuna's Bitter Smile", and you'll see what I mean. **Don't worry, in real live I'm a very happy and optimistic person. But in real live I'm not writing stories either, I brew potions and torture little innocent cells *laughs evilly*._

_Special thanks to Darkwing, who was beta-ing most of my chapters. Only this one went up without having been under her critical eye. I'm a very impatient person._

_There is a good chance of prequels, sequels or just totally unrelated fics._

##########################################################################################   
**_Disclaimer_**   
_Everything, every location, every character belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Pub., Warner Brothers or whoever_   
_might currently hold the rights of Harry Potter. There are exceptions- The title is taken from a John Steinbeck novel,_   
_the Epilogue quotes the Holy Bible._   
_I swear, I don't make money out of this._   
##########################################################################################   
  
  


**Chapter 8**   
**The Land of Nod**   
by Clio, Summer 2001   


"You lied in the courtroom!" Harry blurted out as soon as his eyes focused again on Dumbledore, sitting across from him in the Headmaster's office. Instantly he was ashamed of his rudeness towards the Headmaster.   


"Yes, Harry, I did. I lied to protect Severus, and I never felt sorry for it. He has repaid me fully since then. You might find it hard to believe, but he is the best Head Slytherin has ever had." Dumbledore grinned mischievously at Harry, but became serious again only an instant later. "Although I tried everything, I was not able to keep Sirius out of Azkaban, but at least I could save Severus from the same fate. He surely wouldn't have survived it longer than a few months. You know, too many of my former pupils already fill the cells of Azkaban." 

Dumbledore fell silent for a while. Deep in thought he continued: "Yes, I did the right thing then. I have made mistakes earlier, when I didn't watch over the Slytherin students properly. You see, I'm not without fail, Harry. No one is." 

"Was Professor Snape really innocent of all those other charges he was standing trial for?" 

"It doesn't matter anymore, Harry." 

"So he wasn't?" 

Dumbledore looked out of the window. "Two years later, well after the downfall of Voldemort, Severus came into my office late at night, his breath smelling of whisky. We talked about the crimes he committed as a Death Eater until sunrise. He confessed that some of the accusations you heard were true. Others were made up by Rookwood to make sure he would be found guilty by the jury."   


Harry was silent for quite some time. 

"Believe me, Harry, Severus has paid for his actions. He has placed himself outside of every community. He doesn't belong to the Death Eaters anymore; he has betrayed his friends and schoolmates among them. And in the Gryffindor dominated wizarding community he will never be fully accepted. To be a wanderer between all lines, that's a punishment in itself. He lives in a hell of his own making, mistrusting each and everybody."   
Dumbledore looked Harry straight into the eye. "Maybe you could penetrate that cloud of hate and darkness around him for some moments, if you went and told him, that you don't regard him your enemy anymore. And that you don't hate him for what he has done in that fateful night in 1981. You don't, right?" 

"No," Harry answered hesitatingly. "Do you think he is down in the dungeons now?" 

Dumbledore smiled. "Most likely. You know the way, Harry. Oh, and maybe you shouldn't mention that you witnessed his whole trial through my Pensieve. He surely wouldn't like that." 

After Harry had left the room the Headmaster remained silently looking at the door of his office. Then he turned to Fawkes, his phoenix, with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth " There are moments in which I really sound like a darn wise man, don't I? "   
  


~~~~~~~~   


**Epilogue:**

[...] Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? [...] If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."   
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.   
Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"   
The LORD said, "What have you done? Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.   
Now you are cursed from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from   
your hand. [...] You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."   
Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, [...], and whoever finds me will kill me."   
But the LORD said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over."   
[...]   
So Cain went out from the LORD 's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 

Genesis 4.1-16 (abridged)   
  
  


END   
  
  
  
  



End file.
